Salmonella Outbreak--- Mt. Healthy Hatchery!!! Help!

[BarnChickyOO]

so I just ordered a batch of layers a few weeks ago from mt healthy hatchery via my local agway. they should come in on the 29th.

soooo now they are saying that over 60 cases of salmonella have been reported, all of which (they believe) to be traced back to mt healthy...

What should I do??? any one else hear about this!???

 

[mimimoo]

We had ordered a few leghorns to add to our mix, and they all died during shipment (they shipped on the day the CDC released the info about the outbreak). They offered to replace them, but we ended up cancelling our order just to be on the safe side and have found a local farm to supply us instead.

 

[Folly's place]

This hatchery had a problem before, within the last couple of years. Mary

 

[soggycrunchy]

What does this mean? My girls are 5-6 wks old. Are we okay?

 

[Chicnextdoor84]

Yes I read about this! What does it mean for my chicks I already have? I have some that are 12weeks, 11weeks, 9weeks and a pair that are 7 weeks. They have all been doing well, the 2older sets are already in the big coop and I'm almost reay for the 3rd set to go out. I pray this isn't going to affect my flock! Any info would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Katt66]

Yeah info would be great. I as well have chicks via my TSC from Mt Healthy. They were segregated in the brooder for like six weeks. Growing great... eating well...When they feathered out and it got warmer I introduced them to my existing flock.


Please tell me I won't have to cull the whole flock as some are saying! They all seem fine. The "infected" chucks have been with the rest of the flock for a couple of weeks now. My hens are still laying strong and nobody seems sick. Do I need to worry?

 

[valleychicks]

I am also looking for info on what to do if you have chicks purchased from TSC supplied by Mt. Healthy Hatcheries. Ours as well as some other's I know that purchased from there are 13 weeks old today. Our's are in the coop and free range our yard. We also have 12 chicks we just got in this past week from MPC. If anything is wrong with the TSC chicks I don't want to expose the MPC chicks to them. It makes me ill to think that we may lose our TSC chicks.

 

[chickisoup]

I am also looking for info on what to do if you have chicks purchased from TSC supplied by Mt. Healthy Hatcheries. Ours as well as some other's I know that purchased from there are 13 weeks old today. Our's are in the coop and free range our yard. We also have 12 chicks we just got in this past week from MPC. If anything is wrong with the TSC chicks I don't want to expose the MPC chicks to them. It makes me ill to think that we may lose our TSC chicks.

I originally posted this in the thread "salmonella" . If you go to the Chicken Whisperer FB page you will find links to his radio show archives as well as he has been posting daily about the outbreak and what we can do about it. BTW- this is the third year in a row there has been an outbreak linked to Mt Healthy Hatchery.



thought I would pass this info along. If you don't yet know who the Chicken whisperer is, among his many credentials he is the national spokesman for USDA biosecurity program.




If you go to his FB page you can find a link to the archive copy of his live program yesterday with several expert guests discussing the salmonella outbreak. (or if you click on the "more" underneath the Chicken Whisperer pic at the bottom, it will take you right to his page where he has posted several good info pieces on this )


The Chicken Whisperer
6 hrs ·










SALMONELLA OUTBREAK UPDATE: Many of you have posted questions asking why Mt. Healthy Hatchery has not been shut down, or why they are still being allowed to ship chicks. After talking with the CDC again this morning, I still don't have a good answer to those questions, but it has come to my attention I need to clarify something for my followers and fans. Mt Healthy Hatchery is NPIP certified, (National Poultry Improvement Plan) and participates in the NPIP program as posted on their website. As far as I know, the outsource breeders/hatcheries they use to fulfill orders are also NPIP certified, but I can't prove this. The issue is that the current NPIP program does NOT require testing for any Salmonella strains that affect humans, only chickens. Every state's NPIP program is different. For example, some states test for AI (Avian Influenza) and some don't. At a minimum, NPIP tests for Pullorum and Typhoid. Also, many that participate in the NPIP program only get tested once a year. Some however get tested every 90 days. There is always the chance that your birds get tested clean one day, and then get the disease the next day, and you won't know for another 364 days, until they are tested again. It is not a perfect program, but we all know nothing is perfect. The CDC has been working on a new NPIP Plus program which does included testing for Salmonella that can affect humans, but it has not yet been launched. Many hatcheries across the nation voluntarily test for strains of Salmonella that can affect humans, but it's not required under the current NPIP program. They are just going above and beyond the required testing to ensure a safer product. So, while I do not know the actual cause/source of this particular outbreak, and some information is either "need to know" or "classified", one might say that Mt Healthy Hatchery has broken no laws, and is participating in programs like NPIP that help ensure a safer product. Could they voluntarily do more? Apparently, but it's not required by law. This is my general understanding based on the information I have been given. I hope this helps you have a better understanding as well. I will keep you p
osted as more information becomes available. CW





The Chicken Whisperer



20 hours ago

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  Backyard Poultry with the Chicken Whisperer
  
  Episode 924. SPECIAL SALMONELLA OUTBREAK EPISODE!

 

[chickisoup]

so I just ordered a batch of layers a few weeks ago from mt healthy hatchery via my local agway. they should come in on the 29th.

soooo now they are saying that over 60 cases of salmonella have been reported, all of which (they believe) to be traced back to mt healthy...

What should I do??? any one else hear about this!???

it is definitely traced back to them.

 

[Katt66]

Ok, so, if my options are cull the flock or keep the flock, isolate them for life and be VERY careful with biosecurity and safe handwashing, decontaminating, etc, now what?

If I choose cull the flock, then what? Once the possibly infected chickens are gone what do I do before getting new chickens? That's one of them in my avatar, by the way. One of my originals with my sixteen year old daughter, who's been possibly infected because I'm apparently stupid.

How to I sanitize the coop and run area? My chickens have been free ranging in the yard as well for the past few weeks. Is my whole yard infected? And if so how do I fix it?


Thanks so much TSC! Just how I wanted to start my flippin' summer off! :C